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Walk this way
By Nadine Kam
March 8, 2012
1 / 3

Few of us ever go through the trouble of learning the proper way to walk — much less
walk in heels — and for a while I had the scars to prove it.
No, I didn’t fall down. But I was walking through Waikiki one evening with friends, one
of whom was happy to be breaking in a new pair of platform shoes. We were laughing
and talking when she lost her footing and started clawing the air and everything
around her, including my arm as I broke her fall. The scratches lingered for months,
COURTESY NEIL IZUMI
Pam Sandridge, who hadn’t w
o ering health tips for wome

‘HEELS TO GO’ WORKSHOP
» Where: Ballet Hawaii studios, 777 S. Hotel St.
» When: 3-4:30 p.m. March 17
» Cost: $35 in advance, $40 at the door; to register, call 255-8120 or email qsandridge@gmail.com
» Note: Bring high-heeled shoes and large towel; wear comfortable clothing
and she ended up getting rid of those shoes.
Some people learn. But many others don’t, and for those willing to risk spills and
posture for the sake of a beauty ideal, Pam Sandridge is coming to your rescue.
The jazz-dance veteran and Pilates instructor couldn’t help noticing the “weird, crablike
crouch many adopt with sky-high heels,” and, after seeing national news stories about
the hazards of walking in heels, she concluded something must be done.
She noted that every woman interviewed for the stories understood the risks but
insisted, “I’ll never give up my heels.”
So rather than ght a woman’s impulse to look taller, leaner and sexier via stiletto,
Sandridge will present “Heels to Go,” an informational session to help women learn to
balance the risks of heels with their rewards. The class will take place 3 to 4:30 p.m.
March 17 at the Ballet Hawaii studios at 777 S. Hotel St. (the old Scan Design Building

near King and Cooke streets).
The session will focus on strategies to employ before, during and after walking in heels
for long-term well-being, improving awareness of core stability, and lengthening and
releasing leg muscles so women “may strut upright with beautiful posture.”
“I haven’t been on heels for maybe a year or two, so I’ve really been doing my research
from scratch,” Sandridge said.
In that time, thanks to the magic of the platform sole, heel heights have risen from a
maximum of about 31⁄2 inches to 5 inches. By raising the angle of the derriere 20 to 30
degrees, such heels are intended to cater to men’s visual fantasies.
“Most very high heels are created by men because it does make legs look long and
look more beautiful,” Sandridge said. “You also kick butt, literally, because heels will
tighten and lift your buttocks.”
There’s no ghting human nature, so rather than advocating for or against heels,
Sandridge merely wants to arm women with knowledge of their bodies’ response to
the high heel and “how to work with it.”
“You have to ask yourself, ‘What am I feeling when I wear them? What part of me
hurts?’ Whether you’re aware of it or not, you’re paying for it.”
THE EXERCISES follow the principles of Sandridge’s COREography movement, which
focuses on improving the body’s alignment and core stability, developed to help
dancers.

“Dancers muscle their way through everything. They’re willing go through extreme
pain to do what they need to do, but they’re crippled; they’re very sore. That’s who
they are. That’s who I was,” she said.
She was able to nd balance through Pilates and her studies of Feldenkrais, developed
by Moshé Feldenkrais to improve movement through self-awareness.
Sandridge said women who think their shoes are hurting only their feet and legs have
to understand how the whole body is a ected.
“The legs carry the weight of the body. When this alignment is compromised and not
immediately addressed, the e ect can be painful, and residual e ects can be felt much
later.”
In her quest to do the proper legwork for her class, Sandridge, who turns 65 this year
and thought she was past the age of wearing 3-inch heels, gathered up her remaining
three pairs for a road test.
“Consequently, blisters and minor aches inspired me to learn and create recovery and
rehabilitation methods,” she said.
Choosing to go out for a night on the town in 3-inch boots, she noticed her ribs and
hips had to make an adjustment. With her training, she knew she had to shift her
weight to keep it over her heels.
At her workshop, she invites women to bring in their heels so she can help individuals
adjust and get the proper support. One of the most important rules, even when not in

heels, she said, is to keep your knees soft.
“By soft I mean relaxed. When you’re not used to heels and you step into them, the
rst thing you do is sti en your knees, and right away, that tilts the pelvis forward too
much. Women sti en because they’re afraid to fall, and if you’re afraid, that’s when
you will fall.
“There are a lot of videos on YouTube that show how to walk in heels, but it won’t feel
natural if you have to concentrate on the rules and make the e ort,” Sandridge said.
“It has to happen in a more organic way. The body will tell you what it needs, and when
you have that mind-body connection, then you’re free.”

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